A crew from this fun-loving FMCA chapter competed in a cardboard-boat regatta during their August rally.
February 2024
Although theirs was not the fastest of the creative crafts to take to the water in the fourth running of the Cardboard Boat Regatta at the Moffat County Hot Air Balloon Festival in Craig, Colorado, members of FMCA’s Cuatro Estados chapter did win second place for their imaginative entry. Adorned with a Winnebago logo and sundry travel stickers, and complete with a cardboard GPS on the dash, the tiny corrugated-cardboard motorhome — shadowed by a little Jeep towed car — remained afloat throughout the August 2023 race. Rally master Gene Dorsey — inspired and assisted by his wife, Rosie — built the craft, and then the 16 chapter members on site for the event did the decorating. Chapter members Gloria Romansik and Matt Bentson served as the brave pilots during the race.
Gene said that when they began planning a rally in northwest Colorado a year prior to the event, he went online to look for locations and activities. In the mix of information about the hot-air balloon festival, he noticed a regatta among the planned events. They decided to join the fun, and as a group of RV enthusiasts, it was only fitting that their entry have an RV theme.
The Cuatro Estados crew was one of nine that went head-to-head in timed races during the regatta, with cash prizes awarded for the fastest time and the most creative watercraft. The Titanic Award went to the crew whose boat experienced the most dramatic sinking.
Entries had to be made of only cardboard and other approved materials. During the race, the floating RV was joined by craft with themes such as “Pirates Of The Caribbean,” “Alice In Wonderland,” and the “U.S.S. Anchorage.” “In A Pickle,” a pickle-themed craft, as the name suggests, clocked the fastest time ever at the regatta.
Cuatro Estados is Spanish for “four states,” and most members of the chapter reside in the Four Corners region — Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah — when they aren’t out enjoying their life-size RVs, and sometimes doing zany things!
“We’re just an RV group out having fun like teenagers,” crew member Susan Houston of Carlsbad, New Mexico, told Eli Pace, a reporter covering the event for the Craig Press.
When asked ahead of the race what he thought about their chances, Gene Dorsey told the reporter, “We have no hope of winning the fastest. I mean, motorhomes never go fast, right? You guys always get upset at the motorhomes on the mountain passes. We don’t take offense . . . but we think that we’re going to be able to stay afloat.”
And indeed they did.
If you live or travel regularly in the Four Corners region and would like information about the Cuatro Estados chapter, visit cuatroestados.com.
Share Your News
Do you own an unusual RV, participate in an interesting hobby, travel with pets, or have an RV adventure to tell about? Has your chapter observed a major anniversary, held a rally with a fun theme, honored a dedicated member, or helped out a charity? We want to hear about it. Share your story in 500 words or less, or contact us to tell us about an RV owner you think others should know about. A high-resolution photo and caption instead of an article are also welcome. Email editor@fmca.com; mail Family Matters, c/o Family RVing, 8291 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45244.